Dads strap on babies, take to trail to share tips on rearing

Members of the Indy Dads Group stop to take a selfie before a walk Thursday down the Monon Trail in Carmel. Cut short by the rain, the event was to mark International Babywearing Week.
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Michael Auslen / The Star
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CARMEL — Armed with piping hot apple cider and babies in carriers strapped to their fronts, the men of Indy Dads Group walked down the Monon Trail.

The Thursday evening rain cut their walk short, but the meetup was long enough for kids and dads to meet and new friendships to be forged.

“This is the best part,” said Creed Anthony, who helped start Indy Dads in July. “Most of these guys I didn’t know before.”

The walk, part of a nationwide effort from 11 urban dads groups, was supposed to commemorate International Babywearing Week. But it was also a chance for these dads from every corner of the city to get together.

Anthony started the group after meeting the founders of NYC Dads Group at a conference for father bloggers, writers and organizers. He saw an opportunity to bring together dads with different experiences and backgrounds. The group already has 40 members.

“Parenthood is tricky for anybody,” Anthony said. “I”m not going to stand here and say I’m an expert. I’m learning every day.”

The group allows dads to form a network of other parents who they can contact when they need help, an ear to listen or a play date. Mostly, though, it’s a social outlet for dads, with and without the kids.

Pete Gilbert, a stay-at-home-dad blogger, brought his three kids with him to the walk Thursday.

“It’s fun getting together,” he said, “hanging out with other guys who are going through the same things you are.”

In a culture that often depicts a “deadbeat dad” stereotype, these guys are striving to be the opposite. But Anthony said the group is not just about countering bad stereotypes about fatherhood.

“I don’t view it as a competition,” he said. “Our philosophy is simple. Better parents make better communities, and dads are part of this.”